The Dawn of Darkness
by lectaelf
Summary: It started like many things start in Yu Yu Hakusho... with a threat towards Koenma. Hiei-centric. Inside are the pairings.
1. Threatening Koenma Causes Every Problem

**So, I finally got it out... Really, it's sad that it took this long, but hey, I've had a lot of problems, plus I kept getting through part of it before I decided that it sucked. Hopefully, by posting as I write I'll be more encouraged to keep going. Sorry to anyone who actually has been waiting for this to come out. I know that it's mostly Ookami, but I believe Tenshi's been wanting to read it as well. Sorry, Tenshi! Hmmm... I don't believe I have much more to say, but please enjoy, as I've been working on this for a long time, probably much longer than I should have. I know that it's plot is somewhat cliché, but when I came up with it, it wasn't so overused. Alright, now to the notices.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. These rights belong solely to Yoshihiro Togashi and... well... the people who made it into anime, and who translated it. Dang it, why couldn't I get in on that action! Um... I also do **_**not**_** own Atari. If you want to use her or anything, ask me, but I don't make the final decisions. I do own Selene as well as my other OCs (though most of them are bad guys.) I also own the minùe. You have not seen them yet, but they are **_**mine**_**! I'm hoping to make a book with them in it, so you steal, I hunt you down. Um... sorry for the long disclaimer.**

**Pairings: YusukexKeiko, KuwabaraxYukina (somewhat... due to Yukina's nature), and eventually very, very minor HieixOC. The OC will mostly be a friendship with Hiei (at least for this fic) as I find that much more realistic than having him fall for her right off the bat.**

**Warning: This takes place between the second and third season, so, unfortunately, I had to change some minor things. Kuwabara is losing his powers a little at a time, and there will be some hints to that. Also, things will take a little longer than the series gave the impression of. If it makes you feel better, you can think of it as a distortion in time-space.**

**Now, begin!**

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* * *

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The Dawn of Darkness

Threatening Koenma Causes all the Problems in Spirit World  
(Except for the Occasional, Unfortunate Thievery)

A sigh managed to escape the cloaked woman as she tapped her fingers against the hilt of her sword, its focus on stealth, but still quite powerful, fitting for the great warrior's style. She kept glancing around, seeing if the "Great Lord Koenma" had finally put down his paperwork for a moment to listen to her request. Her hand never ceased to fiddle with her sword, which she was highly considering drawing so that the ruler would give her the respect she deserved.

After a few minutes, a blue oni(1) with one horn came out and stuttered, "L-lord Ko-koenma will see you, Mi-miss."

She scoffed and followed behind him as he led her to the office. She let a dark smirk grace her beautiful features. _Good,_ she thought, _he's afraid of me, just as he should be. Such foolish animals. Demons are the worst creatures, even compared to humans. Their relatives, the ogres, are no better, if they aren't even worse. Demons, at least, have less primitive clothing... sometimes._

The door opening jolted the beauty out of her thoughts and they directed towards the small toddler in the room as he spoke.

"Your kind usually doesn't like to associate themselves with me, so I'll quickly get to the point. What do you need my help with?"

She smiled. It looked almost like a real smile, but the child prince wasn't stupid enough to think she was being friendly. There was mock respect in her voice as she spoke, "My Lord Koenma, my name is Silare(2), and all I truly wish to know where you hid away the two female children you found around ten years ago."

He raised his eyebrows. "Do you truly expect for me to remember two children I found a decade ago?"

"Perhaps. It was only about five or six years after you had received an unanticipated message from my people. This was probably about ten years _after_ another message from us. We do not speak to each other often, as you pointed out. The last time you were contacted, I would guess, would be centuries before all of this."

"Why do you even think I would have them?"

"We've tracked down their pasts and they led to an old psychic demon before they completely disappeared. You almost always have to do with such oddities."

Koenma sighed, "I'll look into it."

"Please do, and I'll return in a week's time to see what you've uncovered. Don't disappoint me, Koenma. My race is a terrible one to upset."

With that, she turned on her heel and started walking towards the door, but the ruler only grinned slightly. "I'm surprised you think of me as such a fool."

The woman stopped in her tracks, though she had her back to him. The prince merely continued lazily, "If your entire race was part of your little mission, I would have also received a note with the seal of the council members verifying what you are looking for." His voice became sterner. "Whatever you want with these children is obviously part of your own agenda, and I see no reason to put them in danger for something that is not even approved by the rest of your kin."

"How very perceptive of you, Little Prince," she responded cooly, turning towards the lord, "You are still overlooking one thing. I am still very powerful, as are those who follow me. I'm more of a force to be reckoned with than you seem to believe." She turned back towards the door again. "Besides, I know you are a fool, you always have been to lower yourself to protecting mere humans and demons."

With that, she stormed out, not allowing Koenma to retort with anything witty, much to the miniature demigod's displeasure. He slumped further into his chair, trying to think of any two girls matching the loose "description" he was given. After a few moments, he ended up resorting to a yell.

"Ogre! I need you to look through records!"

The blue creature returned, looking disheveled from once again being called into Koenma's office without warning.

"What am I looking for, sir?" he asked his ruler.

"Truthfully, Ogre... I'm not exactly sure."

* * *

A brown haired, middle-aged man relaxed in his chair at a table inside the kitchen reading a mystery novel. "How much do you want to bet that your mother drives off without you again today? You do realize that even with all of your rushing, you probably won't make it in time." He calmly stated to what would seem like no one.

"I know," came the exasperated voice of a teenager with medium-length brown hair who was walking by the table, "but at least I attempt to be there. You know, if I really try I can get ready in about five minutes."

He put down the book to raise an eyebrow at her. "You have three minutes, and you shouldn't be wasting them talking to me."

"Mhmm," she replied lazily, not really listening. She went into the bathroom and furiously began to brush her hair.

"Two minutes..."

"One minute!" There was a bit of exasperation in his voice that time.

"Steph, I'm leaving!" yelled a female voice from down the hall.

Luckily the teen had her hair brushed by then, so, while grabbing the two necklaces she always wore, she hurried out the door to make sure she didn't miss her ride. She let a quick "Bye, Dad" escape her lips, getting a wave in response, as she rushed out of the house. Her mother had the car door already open so she dove in before it left. Out of breath, she looked over at the pretty, middle-aged woman in the car with her.

"How many times," the girl asked while catching her breath, "have I told you to not call me 'Steph' or 'Stephanie.'"

"Yeah, I know," replied the girl's mother, "You like being called 'Selene', despite the fact that your father and myself picked out a perfectly good name already. Why do you want to be named after the Greek goddess of the moon anyway?"

"Because it fits me," sulked the teenager as she hastily put on her necklaces.

The woman just sighed and shook her head at her child's actions.

"Plus," Selene continued, done with her previous task, "Stephanie is a cheerleader name."

Her mom cringed at that statement. "Now, that's just mean. You know how much I hate cheerleaders."

"Yeah, yeah, I love you too, Mom."

"Bye _Selene_," she replied sarcastically.

Her mother just got a stuck out tongue in response.

Her mom shook her head and mumbled, "That girl..."

* * *

"Hn. I don't know why _I_ have to babysit two pathetic girls."

Koenma sighed in irritation at the defiant fire demon. "Because, Hiei, you're the only one who doesn't have school, as well as the fact that you're still under probation."

"Why can't you just bring them here if they're in that much danger?"

"We're not sure whether those are the girls, but if they _are_ I'm afraid of what awaits them. Still, if they _aren't_, we don't want to involve them either."

"Send one of your lesser lackeys and give me something of more importance to do."

"If these two girls are the ones being sought after then I'll need someone of your strength to protect them. Plus, there isn't really anything else that I can give you. Besides this problem, Reikai has been abnormally idle."

Hiei grunted in disapproval, but having nothing more to say, he walked out to find the portal, beginning his "babysitting job."

The prince sighed once again, only this time in relief of Hiei not putting up any more of a fight. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what was so special about those girls to Silare. Her race loathed demons, even worse than humans, which is saying quite a lot for them. They always felt they were a superior race, and in many ways, they were. But with that... they were also brutal. Whatever Silare wanted with them, it couldn't be good, or she would have told him to prevent controversy.

It had been two days since the woman met with him, meaning he had five days left before she returned for his answer of the whereabouts of the two girls she asked for. He could only wonder one thing: _What am I going to do?_

* * *

Selene was conspicuously hitting her head against the desk. It was very likely that Mr. Jacobs, her Government teacher, noticed, but that never stopped her. She was so _bored_ that she was sure that somewhere inside of her, what remained of her mind and soul were being demolished, perhaps decomposing in a gooey mess of filth and fungus. She had quite the vivid imagination, especially when she was bored.

"Selene," the teacher said, interrupting her thoughts," you may hate this class, but don't give yourself a concussion. I don't want to get fired."

"I just _love_ how much you care about the students," Selene dryly retorted.

Mr. Jacobs just laughed and walked off to one of the students with his hand up. The teen just put down her head as she sat in her little secluded corner. She didn't have any friends in her class, and the fact that the subject was social studies did not help. For that reason, which of course made since to her teenager mind, she decided to neglect the worksheet she was given altogether. Out of boredom, she gazed out of the adjacent window where she saw a gothic-looking boy sleeping in a tree a little bit away. He had black spiky hair that miraculously didn't seem to have the grease from hair gel and was sure to have contradicted all of the laws her physics teacher taught her. He was dressed in a black cloak, shoes, and pants, the latter two barely visible from under the outer garment.

_What the heck?_ she thought, _What kind of person sleeps in a tree? Plus, he's short enough to be in middle school, why isn't he there. Of course, I'm hardly the one to comment on someone's height..._ Her height was nothing to be proud of either...

The mysterious boy's eyes opened to reveal a pool of blood-red. Her mouth opened somewhat in a slightly comical manor. She couldn't imagine she looked at all impressive, more like a gaping child who heard their first curse word. The figure looked straight at her, noticed he was found out and seemingly disappeared into nothingness. _It's official; I really am insane..._

* * *

Koenma was slack-jawed. It took him a moment to finally decide to call Hiei. He was definitely in a bit of a rage. When Hiei's face appeared on the screen, the prince had to remind himself that the demon was a killer and making him _too_ annoyed was probably a bad idea. Still...

"Hiei, what were you thinking!" Koenma cried. He happened to check up on Hiei right at the moment the koorime flitted away from the sight of one of his charges. "Do you truly believe that disappearing from someone's view makes you less conspicuous than you being in a random tree in the first place?"

Whereas most under Koenma would be asking for forgiveness, Hiei was nonchalant about the entire thing. "If you want to have this done some other way, then just take me off of the babysitting case and let me free back in demon world."

The ruler rolled his eyes. Really, this wasn't the first time the fire demon "asked" to leave Ningenkai(3). Still, this one was tamer than the one involving the katana... but that's a different story. "Truly, Hiei, I didn't think you would be one to give up, especially when it's against two _human_ _girls_."

He knew that shooting at Hiei's ego would work. It sure got his attention, as noted with the grunt of displeasure. Still, he snarled, "Maybe I should just forgo taking care of them and kill them myself."

"Hiei, you know you can't do that."

The demon raised an eyebrow. "Hn, you left me in America to guard two girls _alone_. I'd be away in another country before your forces would even know the deed would be done."

Then again, maybe the blow to the ego wasn't such a good idea. Hiei was right. The ruler had ultimately left the fate of the girls in the hands of Hiei. Not the Reikai Tantei(4) (which was scary enough), but _Hiei_. Said demon just smirked and closed his communicator. He obviously came up with his comeback from their last meeting.

And the vast intelligence of Reikai(5) wins again.

* * *

Atari was quite a beautiful teenager. Many guys wanted to date her, but the vast majority she turned down. Admittedly, she was a bit superficial, though not in the way most people would think. In laymen terms, she was a Goth. People in general disgusted her, and they needed to prove themselves in order to be "worthy" in her eyes, and guys were no different. She wasn't as surprised as Selene when she found herself being stalked by a mysterious figure. In truth, she had been unofficially "stalked" before. He was around her enough to be creepy, but not enough to have her file a restraining order. She saw _this_ stalker first when she was walking to school as, unlike Selene, she got up at a natural time, but not wanting to upset the girl, she said nothing when she saw her at school. The boy disturbed her, though. Atari was tough, there was no denying that. She had quite the reputation of hurting (usually with kicks) both girls and guys. Still, the figure had this look. She felt like running away, she thought she saw _death_. Despite how many people she had threatened to kill, Atari never had actually done so, and seeing a boy that she couldn't figure being older than herself with such a murderous gaze made her uneasy.

Thus, when Atari was waiting for Selene so they would walk home together, she wondered whether or not to bring up the boy to her. Maybe he was just part of her imagination. Still, Atari was very protective of those she cared for, and she didn't want anything to happen to Selene.

It didn't take long for Selene to be seen walking out of school and to her friend. The shorter girl was biting her thumb: a habit she picked up when she was nervous or deep in thought.

_Maybe,_ thought the taller of the two, _I'm not the only one who saw him._

As scary as he was, it would be nice for Atari to know that she wasn't completely insane.

They began walking and Selene sparked up the conversation hesitantly. "So... how was your day?"

Atari awkwardly answered, wondering if her friend's statement was supposed to be a hint that she saw the boy, too, "Um, it wasn't the best. How about you?"

"Well..." she trailed off, "it wasn't that great for me either. I mean, did anything eventful or weird happen to you today?"

Atari, being the one who usually ended up going out on a limb, decided that her friend really _was_ hinting about the guy and decided she had to tell her. So, still a little nervous she spoke, "Yes. This strange boy has been following me around. He's creepy, though, he looks-"

"Otherworldly," her friend interrupted, "He looks like he isn't human."

Atari sighed in relief. "Exactly. He has odd hair and dressed in odd clothes."

"Also, if I'm correct, I think I saw red eyes."

"I did, too. Still, even if he did look normal, he had this aura thing about him. It just seemed to scream 'murderous' or at the very least, 'dangerous.'"

Selene looked to the ground and nodded a bit. "I guess I wouldn't have gone that far. He had this type of pissed off look, and he didn't seem like someone I 'd want to fight, but I didn't feel the danger as much as you did. Then again, I'd be the last one to comment on one of your 'feelings.'"

The shorter girl had actually nicknamed her friend Ichiko (the second nickname given, as her friend's _real_ name was Alexandra or Alex but, like Selene, she hated that name). Selene knew it meant something along the lines of "female fortune-teller" and felt that since her friend had a lot of feelings that end up proving true, the name fit her.

"Well..." Atari trailed off, "What are we going to do about this? We should probably tell the police."

Selene looked a bit shocked, but Atari couldn't blame her. The "ichiko" didn't really like authority figures, though not even she knew quite why. Whatever the reason, Atari never even mentioned telling someone about her previous "stalker" and she bit Selene's head off when the shorter girl mentioned it.

That was why it was equally surprising when Selene spoke her opinion, "I don't know if we really should..."

It was Atari's turn to look at her in shock. "What? Why?"

The girl began biting her thumb again and was looking at the ground. "Well, when I first saw him he was sitting in a tree, seemingly sleeping."

"Odd, but so what?"

"Yes, well I was at school, and didn't expect something like that to happen. I was so shocked I shut down and stared at him in confusion. His eyes opened and he disappeared."

"You stared at him? Are you a moron? We need to play this so he doesn't think we know- Wait, you said he _disappeared_?"

"Yeah. He didn't run away (that I could see), just vanished."

It was Atari's turn to get nervous. "But, that sounds like he's a teleporter. People can't just-"

"I know. That's the point. Perhaps something supernatural is going on. In that case, the authorities couldn't do anything. Then, there's the other option. Maybe we're _insane_. I don't want either of us to go to a mental institution."

"We wouldn't both imagine the same guy..."

"Maybe. Maybe not. We've been close for a long time. There's a chance, however _unlikely_ that we could imagine similar things. Anyway, people would likely assume we both pieced him together and he really _is_ in our imaginations."

Both girls were a bit distraught after that, and as they continued to walk home, it was in silence. Too many questions that couldn't be answered and too many fears that couldn't be conquered.

* * *

**1 oni- ogre. It can also mean other supernatural creatures, but if you see what they're supposed to look like, you'll find that they resemble the ogres in YYH quite closely.**

**2 Selare is pronounced Sə-'lar-e. I only have that because often people don't understand how to say my names. By the way, this **_**isn't**_** Japanese but derived from a language I made up.**

**3 Ningenkai- Human World (the world where we reside)**

**4 Reikai Tantei- The Spirit Detectives**

**5 Reikai- Spirit World (where dead people -and Koenma- reside)**

**I won't use very much Japanese, and when I do it will usually be titles or creatures. On occasion, I'll also use it for a line that I want to emphasize. For example, I may say "Shi'ne!" instead of "Die!" but it'd only be if the person saying it was really upset. It wouldn't happen just because Hiei wanted to kill Kuwabara again. Oh, and sorry for not including too much of the Spirit Detectives. This **_**was**_** all just exposition, thus the reason for the lack of plot... so far. I believe that next time I'll have the Tantei appear.**

**If anyone sees me misspelling or misusing any Japanese, please tell me. I know very little Japanese, and it is likely that I'll make a few mistakes.**

**I believe that's it for now. Sorry about these long Author's Notes, as I know they can be boring. It's just the way that I do things. Ignore them if you wish. Feedback is appreciated, if you wish to give it.**

**Until next time!**

LectaElf


	2. The Other Stalker

**Sorry this was so late. I only have one thing to say: it was Ookami's fault. (Kidding, kidding. We all know you're the brains behind this, so thanks Sasha.)**

**Disclaimer: Yoshihiro Togashi owns Yu Yu Hakusho including its characters, creatures, setting, and general storyline. I own Selene and the minùe, along with some of the more particulars in the plot, but not Atari. She belongs to someone completely different. Oh, and my soul belongs to Jesus. Beat that Togashi.**

**Important:  
At the request of Ookami, I'm putting the translations at the beginning of the story, so you know what you're getting into.**

**1 Makai- the Demon World**

**2 emiko- boy of fire; used to describe Hiei.**

**3 –sama- an honorific that denotes a high level of respect (usually translated as "lord" or "lady")**

**4 Kokuryūha- Literally "Black-Dragon-Wave" though in the English version it's called the "Dragon of Darkness Flame." It's Hiei's ultimate attack.**

* * *

The Dawn of Darkness

Chapter 2:  
The Other Stalker

Hiei hated many things. There's no denying that. That night, though, he couldn't think of anything he despised more than his two charges and the pompous ruler who decided to give him the assignment. Sure, he didn't know if the girls were at any fault for his current predicament, but he'd hated for less, and everyone knows it always feels good to blame an outside source.

It's easy to guess what upset the fire demon so much. Raised in Makai(1), Hiei was used to having to fight for his life, or, in many cases, just fight for fun. Right then, though, Hiei was doing nothing but watch humans go about in their lives, completely unaware of anything supernatural. To sum everything up, the demon was incredibly bored, and it drove the emiko(2) mad. Everyone was like cattle, and their lives were only a small dot in time (and by his standards, that was being generous).

What irritated him further was the fact that his charges wouldn't leave him alone. The one called Atari kept yelling at him, and even tried to throw a book at his head once. Without saying, her attempt ended in disaster. He _was_ faster than her eyes could see. Selene would just stare when she saw him, as if trying to figure out what she should do about their "stalker." Really, if no one was happy with the arrangement, he couldn't figure out why he couldn't just go back to Makai, or at least to Yusuke's human town. It might not be very interesting, either, but at least he didn't have any duties. Besides, he could at least torment the detective while there.

The demon was still in a tree situated fairly close to the girls' houses, when he felt a power surge. It wasn't anything like Toguro, or even those less powerful, such as Jin or Touya, but it wasn't likely some chance demon wandering around. A sadistic smirk crossed his features. _Hopefully,_ he thought, _this might be at least a little more interesting._

* * *

Koenma looked over his notes and poured over his memories to see if there was any mistake as to who Silare wanted. In truth, it would take some effort to find a story he knew _less_ about. In his files, Atari and Selene had only files from _after_ he found them, or, as it were, after they found him. Everything before that time was a mystery.

How did they meet? Well, it was very odd, and like many things, it started when an ogre barged into his office with "urgent business."

* * *

_"Koenma-sama(3)!"_

_"What is it, ogre?" the prince asked, as usual, annoyed._

_The ogre caught his breath and seemed to be contemplating how to explain what happened. "Well, these two girls appeared at the front gates-"_

_"What do you mean, 'two girls appeared a the front gates?' Is the barrier broken?"_

_"No, sir. I don't know how they came across, but they're demons, or at least that's what we think. They have their energy masked, but the only one who is conscious says she doesn't remember anything. She just knows she was told to speak to you, sir. She refused speaking with anyone else."_

_"Then, I suppose you should let them in."_

_They did come in, and it was quite the sight to see. There were two little girls who couldn't be older than five or six walk in. One was very small with short, brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. Still, sparkling or no, her eyes kept wandering to different areas, going from zoning off the window to looking at Koenma to gazing interested at the wall, right before they went back to the window._

_Leaning on the small one was a girl with black hair and dull, brown eyes. She was taller than the other girl, though still short do to her age. If Koenma were to say that the first girl was dazed, he would say the second was in a coma._

_"Alright," Koenma said with a confused sigh, "What do you need to speak to me about."_

_"I..." the more awake girl was trying to concentrate, but found it difficult._

_"What is it?"_

_"I… Gone… Woman…" She then groaned and held her head, seemingly in pain._

_The girl was getting on Koenma's nerves, and fast. She wasn't being at all coherent. When she tried to talk it was as it was all she could to remember how to speak. It was with that thought that it hit Koenma what must have happened. Their memories were erased, but who would do that? It didn't matter at the moment though, all he needed to do was find out what happened._

_"It's alright," he spoke, calmer since he knew more of why she was acting the way she was, "Just try to remember as much about what happened as you can."_

_"I don't remember much. There was a woman and... Oh! I have a message." The girl had a look of relief on her face. Apparently she remembered something very important._

_"The girl with the purple hair-"_

_"The one you're carrying?"_

_The child looked down in surprise. It wasn't uncommon for those who had their memories erased to become disoriented, even days after the procedure._

_She thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes. She told me that we have to see Koenma. When we do, we're supposed to make sure that he gives us a place to stay in the human world."_

_Koenma put his face in his hands. "You need to realize, we can't just let demons go through to Ningenkai just because they want to-"_

_"What do you mean, demons?" The girl interrupted, her face with a look of complete confusion and fear._

_He sighed again. Koenma wasn't a fool. Demons would do anything to get into demon world. Pretending to have amnesia wouldn't be above something they would consider._

_The girl seemed to realize that her question wasn't important. "You don't understand. We _can't_ go back."_

_"Why?"_

_"I don't know, but she stressed it. She said we _needed_ to find a place to stay. We need to disappear. If we don't, we'll die!"_

_The girl's eyes were wide in panic. She was squeezing her companion to herself, so much so that even in the more zoned girl's disoriented state, she grunted in pain._

_Koenma, on the other hand, was shocked. Although he knew he would probably regret it, refusing two children, demons or no, shelter, thereby sending them to their deaths was something he couldn't do. He wasn't heartless._

_"I believe we might be able to arrange something, but we'll have to look into both of your minds. Then, we'll have to erase them of everything that has transpired here."_

_She nodded in relief. "Thank you."_

* * *

When Koenma had his workers look through the girls' memories, they could only find that their pasts were under layers of barriers, ones that would be impossible to look through without causing the two great psychological damages. The only way to regain them would be from the girls themselves, and it would likely be a long process.

The demigod sighed. This was going to be very hard to get around. He still couldn't say what Selene and Atari were trying to run away from, but now they had to be shown the harsh reality that the two had spent so much time trying to leave.

* * *

The trees gave a decent amount of cover. Hopefully enough so that Hiei didn't have to have another lecture from his boss from being too conspicuous with humans around. He had found the other demon in the middle of a somewhat forested park, hopefully letting the emiko not have to deal with any stray humans that would appear at twilight.

Hiei crouched down into a fighting stance. Smirking, the fire demon's hand flew to his katana in a quick movement invisible to the human eye and in less than a second it was drawn. The other demon growled in response, but that didn't affect Hiei's stoic gaze.

Taking a look at the demon, a normal human wouldn't think anything of him. He looked human enough, and with brown eyes and black hair (that didn't stand on end, but in a normal teenage haircut), he looked less conspicuous than Hiei.

There was a moment of pause before the spirit detective decided to make the first move, as his opponent made no move to. Hiei's attempt was to decapitate him quickly, but the opposing demon was unfortunately faster than he appeared and was able to dodge.

Drip, drip.

Unfortunately for the demon, it wasn't before the sword's metal bit into his cheek. A few red drops spilled on the grass.

Despite the demon's escape from death, Hiei was disappointed in his opponent's performance. He wished for more of a challenge than that demon was going to give, as Hiei didn't use much effort with his first attack.

The emiko was going to end everything quick, so he didn't need to waste any more time, but after a step forward, he found he couldn't move. Growling, the fire demon tried to take another step, but after a few minutes of effort, he went the distance of about an inch. Then a force made his sword fly out of his hands and became dug into a nearby tree.

"You rely so much on your speed, what will you do without it?" the demon spoke in a very smug voice.

Hiei was, without argument, completely shocked. He had been one of the winners of the latest Dark Tournament, one of the few wielders of the Jagan, and the _only_ one to master the Kokuryūha(4), yet this demon had no idea that his powers were not limited to his speed? What was this moron thinking?

* * *

Atari was drumming her fingers on the keyboard. _Where is that girl?_ She wondered while checking her instant messenger for the fifteenth time. Yes, it was true Atari had other things to do, for instance, her pressing chemistry homework. Still, she had the typical teenage response to such responsibility: she ignored it until the day before it was due. Ignore that it actually _was_ due the next day. She'd do it at eleven at night... maybe.

"You promised you'd stop doing this..." the girl mumbled, her eyes quickly flicking to the neglected, never-opened textbook. "Thanks. Because of you, I've been left with doing my homework for Mr. Opal."

Atari knew that her friend wouldn't be up until sundown. Every night, Selene wouldn't be able to fall asleep, and every day they got home from school the self-proclaimed "nocturnal" friend would collapse on her couch or bed, depending on how tired she was, and she'd get up at sundown completely awake. Although Atari had some weird quirks herself, Selene's unconventional sleeping habits meant that Atari was bored during the after-school hours. Today, it meant she would have to do her homework: the teenager's bane.

* * *

Hiei didn't want to alert his opponent on what his true potential was, because even if that was Yusuke's approach, the plan was as moronic as the detective. Hiei just looked to be sulking for a moment, and decided to try one of Kurama's tactics. He waited for his opponent to show what he was doing while Hiei came up with a way to defeat him.

Like a script, the demon went into his monologue as to why Hiei couldn't beat him. "You see, I can control wind, and as I'm sure you know, wind can stop any force. Just give enough of a push, and even the most powerful demon will be routed to a certain spot."

That was it. Hiei noticed that his opponent was only pushing him back, likely because that was as far as the wind demon's power went. With that, the emiko decided to move to the side in a flash and give his opponent a hit with his Fist of the Mortal Flame. The attack hit its target square in the jaw and the wind demon was forced to the ground, skidding through a few trees before he stopped.

Hiei gave out a simple, "Hn."

The body was incinerated as Hiei pulled out his embedded katana from the tree. He wiped off his weapon before sheathing it, and decided to call Koenma to tell him the new developments. Perhaps the demon wouldn't have to stay in human world too much longer, or, at least, he won't be required to stay in America.

* * *

Selene walked down the sidewalk towards the park. It was night, and she knew it wasn't smart to walk alone, but, to be honest, she didn't feel like having to talk to anyone, and she liked to walk at night. Also, it wasn't like the neighborhood was bad. She failed to realize that those were famous last words... or, in that case, thoughts.

The teen wasn't paying attention, having a one-sided conversation with herself. She had no idea that where she treaded there was once a dead demon, just as she was not aware of the demon that was following her at that moment. Luckily, Selene had good hearing, so when noise came from behind her, she turned around. In the trees she saw eyes, but-

"Blue?" she questioned the air, "I thought he had red eyes."

Whether she was fortunate or unfortunate, Selene wasn't sure as he leapt down, showing a face she was uncertain of. He definitely wasn't her stalker. In fact, he looked fairly normal…

She took a step back, but that was it. Her legs decided to clamp up; she was too scared to move another inch. As he took a step forward, she tried to steady her breathing and will herself to move again. She shifted, letting herself achieve some action. Once again she was shown her misfortune, as she just ended up landing on her butt.

"Oh, that's it," she berated herself in Japanese, hoping the strange man wouldn't understand her, "I am _not_ going to be the damsel in distress."

"Is that a fact?" the boy asked, also in Japanese, "You should just be happy my orders are not to kill you here and now."

"Great…" she mumbled in response.

Finally, her body responded to her wishes and she sprung up and began to run. That is, of course, right before the wind picked up and sent her flying back towards him. Her arms and legs were flailing frantically, body trying to find safety on the ground. Unfortunately, life didn't seem to be going her way as she came back to the boy, who was now smirking, bringing up his hand in a motion similar to a crossing guard to tell oncoming cars to stop, and that was just what happened. She came to a slow stop, hovering in midair in front of him. His smirk merely became more defined.

In response, she stared in shock before saying a simple, "Oh crap."

* * *

"You're early."

"I know."

Koenma had a bit of a sneer on his face for the reason that Silare was standing across from him, a few days earlier than the demigod planed. In contrast, the woman had a cocky smile and spoke in a calm voice, "I told you not to disappoint me, child, and I was hoping you might heed my warning."

"You obviously don't know how I work, then. I don't give up little children to deranged assassins."

"I assumed you might act that way, but I did hope otherwise," her tone then became more forceful, "I won't be able to guarantee who will and will not die!"

At that, she threw an object on the ruler's desk. At closer examination, it was a woman's head.

The normally calm Koenma turned into his teenage form and rose up angrily. "She wasn't a threat, she was merely one of my ferry girls! You had no right!"

"Take this as your warning," she spoke in a voice laced with pure hatred, "Just because she wasn't a warrior doesn't mean that she can't die the same as everyone else!" Her speech then became more controlled and quiet, "Don't start believing this isn't your fault."

The blue ogre barged in. "Sir-"

"Silence!" Koenma exclaimed. He wasn't sure what Silare would do next.

The ogre experienced a series of flashbacks to the first time she appeared, as she was giving him the same look of distain and apathy as when they first met. In response he squeaked and backed up to the wall, afterwards inching over to where his boss was standing, trying to ignore what lay on the ruler's desk.

"Sir," the blue ogre tried again. This time Koenma remained silent, assuming it must be important if the ogre would try a second time. "Sir, there have been files stolen from records-"

He was once again interrupted, but this time from another man who walked in. "I have them."

Just like the woman, everything about him was beautiful, as if he wasn't real but a flawless painting immortalized for eternity. To put it less poetically, it looked like he came from a rabid bishonen fangirl's deranged fantasy.

Smiling, Silare took some normal-looking file folders from him and skimmed through a few pages. "Perfect," she spoke, more to herself than anyone else. Then, turning her attention towards Koenma, she spoke once more, "Again, you should take this warning quite seriously. The next time we meet, the terms might not be so pleasant."

"Wait," the ogre spoke up, "How are things going to get less pleasant than _now_?"

He of course was not thinking of what he was saying. In response Silare threw a knife through the wall next to his head.

The blue ogre squeaked again and stood there frozen while a small "right" escaped his lips.

"You will be happy to know," she spoke again to Koenma, "that your files will be quite protected with us. Farewell."

Instead of waving her hand she waved some rather thick file folders, the top one labeled "Yusuke Urameshi."

* * *

_Atari was scared. Her family was gone, and she was now in the arms of an ugly demon. "In the arms" should be used loosely, as he seemed to want her as far away from himself as possible, so a closer way to word it would be "holding by the scruff of her neck." Anyway, she didn't know what was going on, and it scared her a great deal. In her defense, she was only four._

_"Hello, little one," boomed the demon's loud, gruff voice. Atari lifted her head to see him talking to a small girl in a cell. She flinched, but held her stoic expression. The gaze made Atari start shaking, more fear added to her already fearful state. "Oh what a scared little girl," he teased, but it was to Atari instead of the other girl._

_Atari started to pay attention to the other girl, seeing traces of pity cross her face. The girl had black hair and gray-blue eyes, and was about the same age as Atari, but her eyes were hardened from her time in the obviously severe place._

_"It seems, little one," the ugly demon interrupted Atari's thoughts, though directing his words to the unknown girl, "that you have gotten yourself a friend for a little while. Your solitude sentence seems to not be in effect… for now."_

_The response he earned was a mere growl for the child. Atari whimpered a bit. She couldn't tell whether to trust the girl or not. Snarling, the demon threw the terrified girl in the cell and closed the heavy door._

_Atari lay on the floor for a little while, unknowing of what was going to happen. When nothing did, she crawled the direction of the little light that escaped from under the door. She knew she was weak, but she also knew that staying like a coward would get her nowhere, so she put her hand against the door and closed her eyes._

_"It's no use, you know," came a voice. Atari knew it could only be the girl. Apparently her eyes were more used to adjusting to the dark, whereas Atari was terrified of it. It took all she had to get to the door. Still, she knew that getting out would chase away her fear._

_"I can do more than you would think," Atari replied after a few moments of silence. She smiled, as she had done something brave. She was never in such positions as a child, and it was new for her._

_The girl laughed. "I have no doubt. Still, this room makes any power you have useless."_

_"That's a lie. I can still sense your energy, which means both of us still have our powers."_

_"We have them, but they're suppressed. You must have power if you can still sense demon energy. As for me? My power does not like being suppressed. The more it's pushed down, the more it resists. It takes a lot out of me to keep it from exploding."_

_"I don't understand."_

_"You don't have to."_

_The fear started to come back to Atari. Not just was she afraid of the dark, but she didn't even have any power to keep her fear at bay, either. She calmed herself down and tried it anyway, finding that the girl's statement rung true. She looked at the ground, disappointed and, of course, fearful._

_Seeing her despair, the other girl made the first move at friendship, saying, "My name is Evendiel." Atari didn't answer, so she continued, "Don't worry, I'll help you if I can. It is hard here, but I'll protect you to the best of my ability."_

_"Thank you," Atari responded, grateful._

_"I suppose I'll start with something simple first. Can you see?"_

_"A little, but…"_

_"What is it?"_

_"I-I'm afraid of the dark."_

_Evendiel paused, then continued, "What did you used to do about the dark?"_

_Atari paused for a moment, caught up in a memory. She then spoke, "My mother would sing to me."_

_The other girl laughed. "Well, I would do the same, but I'm not too good at singing. Besides I don't know many songs. Why don't you come over towards me."_

_"But I can't really see you well."_

_Evendiel laughed again. It was nice, as it gave Atari courage. "Well then," she responded, "I guess I'll need to come and get you."_

_After a bit of shuffling, Atari felt hands inside of her own. Rising with the other girl, she was lead to a couple of beds. She was laid with her head on Evendiel's lap, her hair stroked to sleep. She thought of being home back with her mother, the one who chased away the monsters._

* * *

Knock-knock. "Let me in!"

Atari woke up with a start, breath quick and ragged. She was disoriented from the dream and barely noted that Selene was at her door in a panic.

"Atari! Please help me! LET ME IN!"

That jerked Atari out of her trance. Getting up from the computer chair she ran to the front door, finding a disheveled and bleeding Selene. It wasn't anything too terrible, of course, but seeing her friend with blood coming from her shoulder was enough to send her into a mild shock once more. Selene, though, didn't wait for Atari to snap out of it this time and just pushed herself in, slamming the door behind her, locking both the doorknob and the deadbolt.

"Selene, calm down," Atari commanded, dream forgotten, only her friend's well-being on her mind.

Her friend looked at her, breathing deeply then exhaling, slowing her racing heart. Finally Selene was in a state that where her friend was able to lead her to the couch. "Now," she started again, "you stay here while I get something to help your arm."

Selene nodded, regaining at least some of her calm. "Just breathe deeply," Atari heard her tell herself reassuringly, "Just… breathe."

* * *

With every breath came more of Selene's composure, but she was still restless. Too many crazy things happened to her all at once. Getting up, she walked to the back door, looking out the glass at the calm outside. It was dark, yes, but with all of the light from the city, it was easy to watch the gentle breeze going through the trees. Her eyes widened, though, as the breeze became increasingly stronger.

"Oh no. Not again."

This time, though, she was not rooted to the spot but began to run away from the _glass_ door. It wasn't fast enough, though, as shards went everywhere from a strong blast. Doing what any sane person would do, she ducked into a crouch and put her arms over her head. When she didn't feel any impact, she looked up to see the glass hovering over her. This time, her flight or fight instincts kicked in and she ran faster than ever before, adrenaline helping her do so.

"Atari!" she yelled, but she could barely hear her own voice from the strong winds, and so she was pretty sure Atari wouldn't be able to hear it either. So, she did what any friend would do and ran upstairs to hopefully save Atari from whatever was going to happen.

It took her a minute, but she found her getting supplies from her bathroom to help heal her friend's cut.

"Atari!" she yelled again, only this time with more of a result, "We have to get moving _now_!"

"Huh? What's going-"

Atari tried to speak, but Selene grabbed her arm and pulled her downstairs into the basement, dodging any flying objects as they went.

"What was that?" Atari asked as Selene frantically started to pile objects in front of the door.

"Don't know. Just… help me with this."

"You really think this'll help?"

"No, but it gives me something to do besides freaking out. You know, if my mind wraps around everything that's been happening, I may have a mental breakdown. I'd like to save that until we're out of this… or dead, whichever comes first."

"Well, I need to know what's going on," Atari replied, exasperated. She realized someone has to be keeping the calm. Normally the roles were reversed, but this time Atari had to be the one composed.

Selene paused in her work. "I suppose you're right. If our situations were switched I'd want the same thing. Well, it started when I decided to go on a walk."

"At night? While a boy has been stalking us?"

"Yes, I wasn't thinking. I was just really overloaded with everything, and you know how much better I feel when I walk under a full moon."

"Yeah, I guess. Still… stalker!"

"Okay! I get it! Now do you want to hear the story?"

Atari had the decency to look a bit ashamed. "Yeah. Go on."

"Alright, so I was walking when someone (not the stalker) came out of nowhere and attacked me. When I tried to run away, I was blown back by a strange wind-"

Selene glared at her friend when she once again interrupted her saying, "Does it happen to resemble the same wind that attacked my house just a little bit ago?"

"Yes! Now if you don't let me continue I'll-" this time, it was Selene that interrupted herself. She gave out a half-yell, half-grunt from the pain in her arm. Before, the adrenaline was so high that she only felt a little twinge of pain, but now that things had calmed down, both outside the door and outside the house, her brain was no longer blocking out all of the pain in her body.

"Oh, right, your cut," Atari reminded both herself and Selene. Not that Selene needed reminding…

"Listen, you just help my wound and I'll try to continue. I need to get my mind off of the pain."

"Yeah, yeah, alright."

"Anyway, so the wind didn't just blow me back, but kept me dangling right in front of him. At this time, the stalker did appear, but I mean just appeared. He didn't run or walk in, just one moment there was nothing, then there was him between me and the guy. And that wasn't the worst part-"

It seemed Selene would never be able to finish the story uninterrupted, as both her and Atari heard voices outside of the door to the basement.

"So, Hiei, you say they're right behind this door?" came a muffled voice.

There was a grunt and another voice joined the first. "I don't know, Urameshi, Koenma said they don't have any powers, but I can't get the door open," his voice became more accusing as he continued, "Maybe shorty's wrong."

There was a displeased "hn" in response. Whatever _that_ meant was beyond the girls.

"If that's the case…" the first voice started, but didn't finish his thought.

"Um, Yusuke, I wouldn't advise-" the last piece of input came from a much different voice. It was softer, more melodic, as well as more feminine. The voice was cut off, though, by an explosion coming from Atari's basement door. Four people then stood in front of the two frightened girls.

"Oh crap."

* * *

**And thus ends Chapter 2. I can't keep lying anymore, I hate exposition. Anyway, hope someone enjoyed it. Review if you wish, as not doing so won't make me go away, though I do not ask for flames but constructive criticism. Still, if I get them, I'll deal.**

**First off, thanks to the two people who put me on their watch lists. You rock! Of course, thank you to Ookami who isn't just editing this story, but is also helping me come up with chapter titles, and to Tenshi. Although she isn't a major part, she's one of my biggest fans. Thanks, Tenshi!**

**Next, thanks to public transportation, as, without them, I wouldn't be given so much time in which to get it done. Seriously, I got most of this done last month because I started taking the bus.**

**Okay, and this should be the last thing. I just want to throw out there that if anyone feels they are good with editing fight scenes, please talk to me. As great as my editor is, she doesn't know much about that subject, and I want to keep improving, even if this story is only fanfiction. Therefore, I am looking for a beta willing to look over action sequences. If you're interested, please tell me that in a review.**

**See ya,  
LectaElf**


	3. Gender Confusion

**Yeah, I have no excuse. I'd like to blame everything on school and work, but although they didn't help, it was really my fault. Therefore, I apologize, and to no one more than Zaidee. Thank you so much for your review! If you're still reading, I'd love to hear from you for this chapter, as well. I also thank the two people that still have me on their watch list, and, of course, Ookami (sashax13) has my infinite thanks. Well, no more delay.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Selene, Silare, and all other OCs outside of Atari. She's owned by one of my old friends.**

**1) In the original Japanese version of Yu Yu Hakusho, Kurama sounds like a girl, and, in fact, the voice actor is one.**

**2) ****In the manga and Japanese version of the anime, the name is Lord Enma, but in the American version of the anime, it's Lord Yama.**

* * *

The Dawn of Darkness

Chapter 3:  
Gender Confusion

After Selene's exclamation, an awkward silence engulfed the group. The girl took that time to evaluate the situation, as well as the weird people in front of her. There were three boys, and then the last one. Whether or not that person was a guy or a girl hadn't been decided yet. Well, when he/she talked Selene would _hopefully_ know.

"Don't worry," said the person who Selene now decided was a girl(1), "We're not here to harm you. My name is Kurama."

With that she put out a hand to show that she wanted the two girls to come of their own freewill. It was then that Selene noticed that her voice was the same as the one who didn't want to destroy Atari's basement (though her request went unnoticed), and Selene thought, _Maybe this "Kurama" can be trusted..._

Selene was so absorbed in her thoughts that she almost missed the names of the other strangers. Still, she managed to find out that the boy with slicked-back, black hair was Yusuke, the tall red-head (though it was closer to orange) with beady eyes was Kuwabara, and then the last-

Before Kurama was able to name the last one, Selene let out a yell saying, "Hey, you're the stalker."

The short boy sneered back at her. "A stalker would entail that I actually cared about you two," his glare deepened as he continued, "Honestly, I'm tired of having to look at your faces."

What he spoke contained so much venom that Selene visibly flinched. She definitely hadn't forgotten what she saw him do just a little bit ago, and she remembered what Atari said about him. Speaking of which, her normally spitfire friend was unusually quiet. Looking at her, Selene saw that Atari's entire body was stiff and her teeth were clenched. There was no doubt about it. Atari was just as scared as Selene.

"Hiei!" Kurama spoke in Japanese, this time with a bit of annoyance "This is not the time for this!"

"Stay out of this, fox," Hiei retorted, also in Japanese, "You're not the one who had to 'stalk' them."

"Hey!" Selene spoke up again, this time in Japanese. She didn't like how Hiei was treating the girl who was defending herself and Atari, and therefore thought she needed to say something. She saw that she got everyone's attention, probably because none of them knew she could speak Japanese before that moment (except for maybe Hiei), so she continued, "Don't push her around just because you're unhappy. She was just sticking up for us and I don't see any reason for you to treat her like crap just because you're a moody jerk."

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Then, that moment turned into a few moments, and by that point, Selene was shifting back and forth, more than a little uncomfortable. Just when she thought no one was going to do anything, Yusuke and Kuwabara both looked at each other and burst out laughing. They even collapsed on the floor and begin pointing at Kurama. That, of course, drew Selene's attention to the girl, who was looking away in either embarrassment or annoyance, or perhaps it was a fair mixture of both.

She took a quick glance at Hiei, seeing that his death glare had finally disappeared, and had been replaced by a smirk. _At least,_ she thought,_something good might have come out of this._

Anyway, the two boys were still laughing, and it was starting to get on Selene's nerves. Really, what happened that was so funny? She decided to voice her thoughts, which just made them laugh harder.

"Hey, I was just sticking up for her!" she said, a glare starting to grace her features, "Can you tell me what exactly is so funny?"

Yusuke got off of the ground, still laughing, and went towards her. As he got to Selene's side, he put an arm around her, making her stiff up, but he didn't seem to notice. "Sorry to inform you of this," he said through his chuckling, "but Kurama is definitely a guy."

"I..." Selene started, but trailed off, not knowing what to say. She finally got some words together and said, in an almost pleading voice, "I'm so sorry, Kurama!"

He just sighed in response, though he still seemed a bit annoyed.

Selene remembered her usually loud friend, and she looked over to her, finding that she was glaring at Yusuke, who's arm was still around her. Atari angrily went up to him and kicked him in the back of the leg.

Yusuke in response jumped back, running into one of the walls, which, in turn, made him fall to the hard ground, as Atari's basement wasn't finished. "You bitch!" he exclaimed, aggravated.

Selene glared at him, saying in a threatening voice, "Don't you call my friend a bitch."

"She kicked me!"

"_You_," Atari defended, "were making Selene uncomfortable."

"Still, you-"

"Oh, and you might have been able to distract Selene from the fact that you're all breaking and entering, but you haven't fooled me."

Selene looked at her friend, shocked. _Dangit! I really _did_ forget,_ she thought, angry with herself for her stupidity.

"Moron," came a voice from the back corner.

Selene turned her head to see the glowering eyes of Hiei right on her. _What is his problem?_

His eyes just narrowed.

"Hiei!" Kurama hissed, "enough!"

Atari cleared her throat. "People, if you would listen!"

For some reason, everyone really did get quiet.

"You all might be trying to act nice (well, except for Hiei) but that doesn't mean we'll trust you. Something doesn't feel right about you guys, and I don't know why we should trust that you want us for anything better than the ones who attacked us already. Therefore, if Selene agrees with me, we're leaving!"

Everyone looked at Selene expectantly.

"Like I've told you before, Atari," she replied after a moment of awkward silence, "I know better than to not trust your 'feelings.'"

"Then it's settled!"

"You seem to think we're asking," Hiei said grumpily from his corner.

"Hey, shrimp!" Kuwabara exclaimed, but seeing both Selene and Hiei looking at him he clarified, "I'm talking to the one who's acting like a total jerk! I guess you haven't noticed, but we actually _are_ asking. Koenma didn't say anything about using force. We shouldn't be having them hating us already. It usually takes at least until they get to know Urameshi before that happens."

"Hey!" Yusuke yelled from where he was standing.

"In any case," Kurama jumped in, ignoring the insulted spirit detective, "the only one who really wants to use force is you, Hiei."

"Hn," Hiei responded, "I'm going to get out of this place and at least go back to Japan, or even better, Makai. You two stand in my way, and I'll make your lives a living hell."

Both girls looked at each other and silently agreed that his threat was likely not an empty one. Still, they didn't think they could just go with four strangers. Neither of them were that trusting. Even so, getting the already pissed off Hiei any angrier didn't seem like a good option either. So, they were left at an impasse, staring at each other having a silent conversation that could only be pulled off by two girls who have spent way too much time together.

They came to the same conclusion. How they knew that they both came to that conclusion was one of the mysteries of women, but in any case, they were going to run for it.

"Hey," Yusuke brought their attention from their silent scheming to what he was saying, "Listen. I think it's kind of obvious that if we really wanted you guys to come with us at all costs, we would have let Hiei knock you guys out already."

Both Atari and Selene look at each other for a second before they hear him start to speak again.

"All we know is that there are some people out there who want you for some reason. Now, if I know demons, it is probably something to do with eating your flesh to dominate the world or some crap. Anyway, the point is that all of us are really tired of this mission _already_ and if you could just come with the obvious good guys, then we could all meet pacifier-breath and figure out what's going on."

"Demons?" Atari asked hesitantly, voice shaking a bit.

"Wait, _you_ don't even know what's going on?" Selene questioned, then, after a moment of silence she figured out what Atari said. Her eyes widened and she backed away a few steps.

Kurama decided it was time that he once again intervened in the conversation, so he told the girls, "Yes, for both questions. Now, Yusuke was right. We really _are_ trying to help you."

Everyone was silent for a moment before Selene spoke.

"Fine," Selene said, combing a hand through her hair, a tired expression adorned on her face, "I'll go, if only to figure out the truth of all of this."

Atari glared at everyone in the room, paying special attention to her so-called "friend." "I still think this is a bad idea, but if I don't go, I know that Selene will get in all kinds of trouble. So, I'm begrudgingly in."

Selene just stuck her tongue out in response.

"So," Kurama spoke, "I suppose it's settled."

"Okay, Koenma," Yusuke spoke into what looked like a compact mirror, "now you've gotta tell us what the hell's going on here."

Instead of a verbal response, the two girls' eyes widened as they saw what looked like a miniature black hole appear in Atari's basement.

"Oh, no," Selene protested, "You are _not_ getting me to go through that!"

* * *

Atari sighed. Everyone was walking through the giant hallway that Atari and Selene couldn't help thinking looked like a throat. Still, Selene managed to stay unafraid as all of her emotions were stuck on loathing for her long-time friend.

"You _were_ the one who wanted to go, you don't have to make a thing out of this," Atari said, trying to quell Selene's anger. Unfortunately, her plan was failing miserably. Selene just sent her a nasty glare in response. "It really wasn't that bad..."

"You pushed me!" Selene snapped back.

"Oh, come on. You weren't going to go in any other way. Besides, I didn't want to explain to my parents why there was a giant black hole in the middle of the basement, or even worse: why there were _four boys_ down there with us in an unsupervised house."

Selene stuck out her tongue in response.

Luckily for Atari, the fight was soon forgotten once they got through the giant doors and into... a giant office with ogres running around?

"Uh..." Selene started, only to trail off. There were no words for the scene she was seeing.

Kurama looked back and smiled at the two girls who had stopped walking. "We'll have time to explain all of this later. Right now we should focus on going to see Koenma."

The two girls were silent, but nonetheless followed Kurama and the other three boys.

Selene fidgeted while walking. "So," she began, but her voice wavered a bit, "This Koenma guy, what does he do?"

Kurama smiled down at her before directing his attention to where he was walking. "He's the ruler of Reikai."

Selene blinked a couple of times, "But doesn't mythology say that that's Lord Enma(2)?"

"Yes, but although he is the actual ruler, his son, Koenma, is the one who does much of the work."

Selene kept biting her lip, looking down. Atari, on the other hand just rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," Atari said, "let's just get there already..."

She trailed off since, as she was speaking, they came up to two large doors. Without any pause, Yusuke opened them to reveal a highly decorated room, with nothing inside but a desk and a large chair.

Selene's feelings of anxiousness turned to confusion. "Uh, where's Lord Koenma?"

A cough was heard in the room, and it took a moment for Selene and Atari to realize where it was coming from. Looking down, they saw a little toddler with a binkey in his mouth.

"And, what's with the kid?" Atari said, a grimace on her face. She was always uncomfortable with small children.

"I'm Koenma!" he said, and noted from his tone of voice, more than a little aggravated.

"Atari," Selene warned, "don't."

Her look went even sourer as she looked at him. "I'm sorry, but this has to be some sort of sick joke."

He sighed, "I think I might have preferred your disposition when I saw you last time.

Selene, who was trying to not laugh at her friend earlier, had her amused face suddenly turn serious. "What do you mean, 'last time?'"

"I mean, that this is not the first time you've been to Spirit World."

Selene blinked.

Yusuke took this opportunity to pipe up, "Speaking of which, why are we here? I mean, I haven't met you here since I was dead."

Selene was going to ask another question when Atari kicked her. Looking over, Selene saw Atari mouth, "Drop it," while shaking her head.

"Well, Yusuke," Koenma replied, knocking both Selene and Atari out of their silent conversation and having their attention diverted to him, "As the two girls have been here before, I was actually hoping that seeing some of the things here might trigger some of their memories."

Selene looked around before saying, "I definitely would remember some place like this. Are you sure you got the right girls?"

"Yes. Both you and Atari appeared here about ten years ago, your memories already wiped clean."

"What?" Atari exclaimed.

"We don't know much of what happened to you, as you had no memories of any event before coming to Reikai. Selene, you told me that you were seeking shelter in the human world, though you didn't know why it was so urgent. All you knew was that Atari told you before her own memories were wiped that you needed to hide in the human world, or else you'd be killed. I tried looking you up in records, but you weren't there. We even tried to recover your memories, but you both had so many barriers around them it would be impossible without serious brain damage.

"Anyway, the point is that you two are the girls."

Selene was looking at the ground, face scrunched, when she suddenly spoke up, "But... why are you coming to us now? If you were going to bring us back anyway, then why didn't you just keep us here?"

"We couldn't keep you here, plainly, because this place really isn't that well adept to taking care of two little girls. As to 'why now?' it is true that the plan always had you both coming here soon before your memories resurfaced. You see, even the best of psychics can't really delete memories, but they cover them up. Usually, the person ends up regaining the memories in some way, most often in the form of a dream. It's impossible to keep memories away from a person forever. The barriers should start cracking soon."

"So, _that's_ why you brought us." Atari mumbled to herself.

"Wait," Yusuke interjected, "if that was the case, why did you send Hiei to protect them?"

"Hn," Hiei spat, "I was beginning to wonder the same thing."

"Well, there was another reason I decided to bring you here now as opposed to later. A woman came in seeking two girls that, if I am correct, are the both of you. I knew I couldn't give you to her. She proved herself to be like the rest of her kind: ruthless when trying to get what she wants. She couldn't have wanted you for anything good, especially since we believe you are most likely demons."

"Wait, so is this mysterious woman a demon or a human?" Kuwabara asked, looking a bit confused, though, Selene and Atari were happy he asked that question, as the both of them weren't keeping up too well either.

"Actually, she is neither."

"Oh, hell no!" Yusuke shouted, "Now, you _cannot_ tell me there are other creatures I have to destroy!"

"Luckily for you, Yusuke, her kind usually prefers to stay out of our affairs. In fact, they usually stay in their own dimension. I can't think of a single reason Silare would need two demon girls."

"Um," Selene interrupted, body tense, "you keep saying we're demons. What do you mean? Are we evil, or what?"

"Not necessarily," Koenma replied, and Selene's body relaxed a bit, "Actually, Hiei's a demon, and Kurama is, in a way, also a demon."

"I'm not sure if I should be reassured or not..."

Koenma sighed and decided to ignore her statement. "Anyway, the two of you will be staying with the psychic Genkai. She should be able to help you both retrieve your memories, and, if she's feeling particularly generous, I might be able to convince her to train you."

"Yeah right," Yusuke interrupted, "Generosity would be making sure the old bat doesn't have another torture session cleverly disguised as 'training.' Trust me," he said, turning to Selene and Atari, "you'll be a lot happier if you have a different teacher than Grandma."

"Grandma?" Atari questioned quietly to herself.

"Thanks for reassuring them, Yusuke," said Koenma sarcastically through grit teeth.

"Atari," Selene whispered to her friend, "you know the time I said our lives needed a little more adventure? I think I wish I could take that back."

"You and me both," she responded, "I just wish you didn't have to drag me along with you."

Selene stuck out her tongue in retaliation.

Koenma coughed, interrupting the girls' argument to get them back on track. "Anyway," he said, "Botan will be able to show you to where the portal is that should land you close to Genkai's compound."

"Yeah, right," Yusuke mumbled angrily under his breath.

"Huh?" Atari questions.

"You'll get what I mean when you go through the portal."

"Not another one," Selene mumbled to herself as they left the office. After a moment, a preppy looking blue-haired girl came around the corner.

From the corner of Selene's eye, she saw her friend grimace. Selene just sighed. _Atari really needs to stop judging people right when she meets them, _she thought.

"Hi," the girl said, "my name is Botan. You might see me around as I help the detectives from time to time."

"Oh, great," Atari mumbled under her breath and pushed her aside before she figured out she had no idea where she was going. "Um," Atari mumbled as she turned around, showing she had red cheeks, "Where's the portal?"

No one seemed to have an answer except Botan.

"Koenma called me to show you where it is," she said, and although she still had her happy voice, she looked a little down from Atari's rudeness. Still, she smiled and continued, "Follow me!"

As they followed her, Selene caught up to the blue-haired girl. "Sorry about Atari," Selene said, looking ashamed, "She tends to act that way towards people she doesn't know."

Botan smiled. "That's fine!"

Selene sighed and fell back with the rest of them. _At least one person might not hate us,_ she thought happily.

When Botan finally stopped, it was in front of a mostly empty room. The only thing in it was a black swirling portal, that Selene looked at warily.

"Well," Selene spoke, looking at Atari, "you go first."

Atari sighed. "Are you still mad about me pushing you?"

"No, but I can't say I trust you at the moment."

"Will one of you move?" Yusuke asked, annoyed.

They ignored him and kept arguing.

Suddenly, Selene felt a push from behind her as she fell through the darkness... then landing on the hard ground. Unfortunately, Atari came right after, and not prepared for it fell on top of the smaller girl. Then came Yusuke and Kuwabara, who also managed to land on her. The only two who managed to land gracefully were Kurama and Hiei.

Luckily, Selene was small enough that she managed to squeeze out, where she saw the dogpile, as well as an amused-looking Kurama and a smug Hiei.

"Okay," Selene spoke angrily, "Who pushed me?"

Hiei's smirk got a bit wider.

"Don't tell me," Selene said to him, "it was you."

"Hn," he responded, and Selene was able to hear the smugness in his voice, "I'm surprised you were actually able to figure it out.

She sighed angrily, crossed her arms, and sulked, only mumbling a low "jerk" in response.

Once everyone was untangled from each other, Yusuke looked towards a temple and sighed, saying, "I hate always being right."

Hiei looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Detective, you're rarely right, and whenever you are it's usually more luck than actual skill."

"Well," Selene interjected, "that means he has good instincts, right?"

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"What? I've managed to have almost everyone here hate me within our first meeting. I want at least one person to protect me when the psycho woman comes to kill me. By the way, what were you right about?"

Yusuke pointed to the direction of the temple, which happened to also be up the largest set of stairs the two girls had ever seen. "Close to the temple, my ass!" he exclaimed unhappily.

**

* * *

**

I know, not as long as my previous chapter, buuuut I got some annoying explanation out of the way. I think some fun stuff will happen next chapter, so hopefully you have that to look forward to. Sadly, this is the first chapter I wrote swearing. I know most people probably didn't notice, but I don't actually cuss. Oh well, with Yusuke, it's unavoidable.

**Anyway... I thank you again, Zaidee. I hope you're still reading, even after all this time! I'm glad you're interested.**

**I'll see you all next chapter!**

**LectaElf**


	4. Training to Cheat Death

**And another chapter crawls from the recesses of my mind. I have to say, I was really annoyed with this one since the next one will be the one filled with revelations... or, well, I think there will be. So you know, I decided to change around some things from my main idea. Therefore, if you check the first chapter you'll find that pairings have been changed to not include the OcxOC romance as well as taking out the KuramaxOC romance that was only going to be hinted at. Since I've decided to take out a major chunk of what I already had planned, some characters are not introduced. Maybe if I feel like it I'll do a miniseries for them or something... but probably not. Anyway, continue.**

**Disclaimer: OCs besides Atari are mine. Those characters cannon to Yu Yu Hakusho are not. It's simple. Remember it.**

**1) engawa- You see these in traditional Japanese houses and temples. I'm not an expert on them, but I know that they are outside, and from what I've seen usually wood. My best advice is to look them up on Google if you're confused.**

**2) shoji sliding door- Traditional Asian-style sliding door. Again, look it up on Google if you're confused.**

* * *

The Dawn of Darkness

Chapter 4:

Training to Cheat Death

After a long, arduous hike up the stairs, Selene and Atari sat down on the top to catch their breath.

Selene spoke first while panting, "You... weren't kidding... about how far... it was."

Atari just nodded, as she was worse at endurance than her friend.

"Yeah," Yusuke replied, not even winded, "You get used to it, but the first week is a killer."

Atari gasped for breath while asking, "You mean we'll have to do that again?"

"Well," Kurama replied, "If you want to ever leave and come back, yes. And, it also depends on what Master Genkai has you both do if she ends up training you.

"I hope for their sake Grandma says no," Yusuke replied.

"Hmph," came a raspy voice from the temple that they had their backs to, "You really think I would want two more students after having to deal with you, dimwit?"

Turning around, everyone saw a short, old woman with faded pink hair looking at Yusuke with a scowl.

"You're Master Genkai, I assume, then," Selene said, standing up and doing a small bow for her, hands together as if for prayer.

"Yes," Genkai replied, then paused, looking at Atari, "Well, it's nice to have at least one person show me some respect."

Selene looked at Atari, seeing she wasn't paying the old woman any attention. After a moment, Selene kicked her in hopes of getting her up, maybe improving their chances of gaining her as a teacher. Selene couldn't help but feel anxious for a teacher. After years of not knowing her place in the world, she finally had a chance. Then again, maybe she was just over-thinking it.

Atari glared up at her friend, still having a hard time breathing. "Screw you," she said without emotion.

Selene sighed with her head in her hands. "This is just great," she mumbled.

"I guess it doesn't really matter since I'm not taking on students anyway," Genkai informed them, "You can stay here for as long as you like, but I'm not about to train any more ungrateful dimwits."

Selene sighed again. "Well, thanks for the room anyway... That is, we are still getting a room, right?"

Genkai nodded. "Now come on. I'll show you where it is."

Everyone followed her, Selene trying desperately to remember where exactly they were going, in the vain hope of not getting lost. Vain, due to the fact that neither Selene nor Atari were too great with directions. Their chances weren't helped as Selene kept having her memorization interrupted by the arguing going on between Yusuke and Kuwabara.

* * *

When Selene and Atari arrived at their room, they found there wasn't too much to look at. There were white walls, two futons and a wardrobe, but it _was_ a place to live. They both sat on a futon, silently claiming it as their own.

"Come on," Genkai told the boys, "let's let them get settled."

Atari plopped herself into a lying position on her futon, letting her head fall over the other side so she could look at Selene. The short girl just smiled from her still-sitting position.

"So," Atari began, "what's going to happen now?"

"Don't know," Selene replied quietly, "Genkai didn't agree to train us, so I guess they'll just have someone else do it."

"I was talking more about what's going to happen to our lives. I mean, we left our parents without a word _and_ we're underage. Oh, and I almost forgot that when we left my house was half gone, and part of the basement blown away by Yusuke."

Selene sighed then responded, "Like I would know."

"I guess. Well, are we at least going to get our stuff back?"

Selene gave her friend a look that clearly said, "Why would I know?"

"Hey," came a voice from the door. The two girls turned to see that it was Yusuke. "Are you two done talking so we can figure out what's going to happen to you?"

"I think so," Selene responded, looking at Atari for confirmation.

"Yeah," Atari agreed.

* * *

Everyone was huddled around Yusuke, who currently had the communicator. Of course, the "everyone" happened to be Atari, Selene, and Kuwabara. Hiei didn't appear to be paying too much attention as he sat in a windowsill with his eyes closed, and Kurama was standing a little away so he could keep track of the conversation while still keeping his dignity by staying out of the huddle.

"Well," Koenma spoke from the communicator, "That's disappointing, though not unexpected. I guess the only choice we have left is for Hiei to train you."

"What?" Selene yelled in exasperation.

Atari just looked a bit surprised.

"You do realize that he hates me," Selene continued, "and will likely kill me and claim it was just an accident."

"Hn," Hiei spoke from the corner, "It seems the child might have figured me out already."

"Although Hiei wasn't my first choice," Koenma replied, ignoring Hiei's comments, "I can honestly say we don't have too many choices at the present time. Everyone else here has school, so I doubt they have the time to train you."

"I think I could manage to suffer skipping school to see that these two girls aren't killed during training with Hiei," Yusuke spoke up, acting like it would be a huge sacrifice.

Koenma gave him a look. "You're going to school, Yusuke."

"Damnit!" Yusuke cursed under his breath.

"Anyway..." Koenma continued, ignoring Yusuke's complaints this time, "Hiei, you can start your training tomorrow morning."

The girls just looked at each other and sighed unhappily. They could tell their life was about to make an awful turn.

* * *

Selene sat on the edge of the engawa(1) outside, letting her feet dangle and graze the grass beneath. It was the eve before the full moon and she gazed up at it as she sighed, deep in thought. What was it, eleven at night? Selene just couldn't seem to remember.

"Having trouble with the time difference?" a quiet voice questioned from behind her.

Turning, Selene saw a blue-haired, red-eyed girl standing slightly behind her, also admiring the moon. Her eyes looked familiar, though Selene couldn't place why. Ignoring, her thoughts, and focusing instead on what the girl said, Selene laughed. "Oddly enough, not too much. I would likely want to be asleep if I were in America. What time is it there, ten in the morning?"

"I believe it's actually around noon there at the moment."

"Well, either way I'd still probably be asleep, or at least want to be asleep. I don't know why, but I've always preferred night to day, as far back as I can remember." Selene turned back to the night sky, paying close attention to the moon. "I've always felt some kind of connection with the night, especially the moon. I know that it's just a piece of rock, but something tells me it's actually more. I feel... I don't know. I guess I just feel like someone is watching over me. I never really feel alone when it's out." Selene turned back to her with a blush on her face. "I can't believe I just told you that. Not even Atari knows that about me."

She looked down at her and giggled. "That's alright. You've been under a lot of stress, I'm sure you just needed to talk to someone."

"Maybe, but I don't even know you. I shouldn't place my crazy thoughts on you; I'm sure you have your own problems to deal with."

"I do, but I don't mind making you feel better."

Selene smiled. "Well, thank you for that." She then paused and then asked, "You're Yukina, right? I heard some about you from Kuwabara."

She laughed, seemingly amused by the fact Selene wasn't even completely sure of her name. "Yes, that is correct. I believe you may want to go to sleep soon, though. Most likely Hiei will wake you up very early."

Selene groaned. "Even here no one will respect my sleep patterns. I mean, it's not like I can help it."

"Well, I guarantee you'll sleep well tomorrow."

Selene lied down and groaned again. "The problem is that you're probably going to be wrong. I'll just have to sleep during the day after 'training' or whatever."

Yukina giggled again before sitting next to her, and in turn Selene propped herself up on her elbows.

"So, you think Hiei's training will be pretty hard?" Selene asked after a few moments of silence.

Looking over, she saw that Yukina was looking at the night sky thoughtfully. "I suppose I can't really say for sure. Sorry."

"No need to apologize." Another moment of silence passed between them, before Selene spoke again. "Do you know Hiei very well?"

"Not really, but for some reason, I feel very close to him anyway."

Selene smiled. "Really? You have a crush on him or something?"

"A crush?"

Selene smile grew a bit at Yukina's naiveté. "You know, like him as more than a friend? In a romantic way."

Yukina's face got very red and Selene had to suppress a chuckle. "No, nothing like that."

"I suppose that's good," Selene responded, only partially managing to keep her laughter under control, "From what Kuwabara told me, I think he might be devastated if that were the case."

"Why would Kuwabara be devastated?"

"Um..." Selene paused, not exactly knowing how to answer her question. "I think that's not exactly my place to explain."

Yukina gave her a confused look, but nodded anyway.

Trying to get the conversation off of something that could get her into trouble, Selene changed subjects. "So, how do you feel about Hiei?"

Yukina paused, seemingly trying to piece together her words correctly. "I'm not completely sure. When I originally came to the human world, I was searching for my brother. Although I haven't found him, Hiei's protected me, watched over me, treated me much like a brother would. He even helped to rescue me from a man who held me prisoner."

Selene looked at the ice maiden and smiled. "Maybe you should tell him that sometime."

She returned the smile. "Maybe I will."

"You have any suggestions for me? I believe I'm on his bad side."

"It's hard to say. I wouldn't try too hard to make him like you. You should just act like you usually act. He's a telepath, so putting up a façade wouldn't probably work anyway."

Selene blinked. _Dang. I hope he didn't ever hear anything I didn't want him to._

After a moment more of staring at the stars, Yukina yawned. "I suppose I better go to bed soon."

"Go ahead," Selene replied casually, "I don't mind."

They looked at each other and smiled.

"Well, goodnight, Selene," Yukina spoke gently, getting up to go inside.

Selene smiled and waved. "Night, Yukina."

After she heard the shoji sliding door(2) close she leaned back and closed her eyes. _I guess I should try to go to bed soon, as well._

* * *

"Out of curiosity, isn't this a bit mismatched?" Selene asked uncertainly, "I mean, it is us two against you."

"Hn," Hiei replied stoically, "I'll be fine."

"Yeah, but it wasn't _you_ I was worried about! Even with both of us, don't you have the upper hand in this?"

"Of course I do," Hiei spoke, his obvious annoyance dripping in his voice, "Don't think I like this any more than you."

"Before we start, what is this supposed to be accomplishing?" Atari asked, looking at the katana in her hand.

Selene was also looking at hers, trying to figure out how to use it. Neither Atari nor Selene knew too much about self-defense or weaponry. Atari was the only one who'd get into fights at their school, and she was only decent at it because of her instincts about things.

"You know," Selene spoke up, continuing Atari's previous question, "besides getting me killed."

"Hn," Hiei responded, earning a glare from both girls.

Suddenly, Hiei disappeared from in front of them.

"Oh, I am _so_ dead!" Selene exclaimed from her pitiful fighting stance.

"Back-to-back," Atari said looking at her.

Selene nodded in response. Sure it wouldn't likely help too much, but it's better than nothing.

"Now what?" Selene asked after their backs were touching as they looked around to try and find Hiei.

"Try to hit anything that moves?" Atari replied, though more as a question then anything, "Why do I have to come up with all the steps to this plan?"

Selene just shrugged, knowing Atari would feel the action. In truth, Selene was really just trying to focus on the mysterious, disappearing boy who still hadn't reappeared. It had been about a minute and Selene's knuckles were already turning white. She really wished she knew if he really could turn invisible or if he was just hiding. No one had explained too much about his powers.

* * *

"You know Hiei, I can't say for sure, but I'm pretty sure Koenma won't be happy when he knows you just left your charges in the middle of a training session," Genkai spoke, but still with a bit of amusement in her voice, "How long are you going to keep them there?"

"Hn. The child shouldn't have left me to train them if he didn't want this to happen."

Genkai sighed and got up off of the mat she was sitting on.

One of Hiei's eyes opened and looked at her. "What are you doing?"

"Going to get your students, unless you want to stop screwing around."

"So then you will train them?"

"No, Hiei. I just felt they should know that their teacher isn't coming back."

Both of Hiei's eyes opened as he looked out of the tinted window, seeing the two girls standing back-to-back below. "They know nothing of fighting. There is nothing to work with."

Genkai turned to look at him and lit a cigarette, taking a long drag. "Perhaps if you decided to look, you would see it. There is power, but it is deep inside. Atari's is not as hidden. I believe that you will have problems with Selene, though."

"I'm doubt Selene even has any powers."

Genkai rose an eyebrow then sighed looking down at the girls. "Maybe not," she said, taking another drag, "But then again, I feel something deep within her: something wild- something feral."

Hiei looked back to her, a curious gaze lining his face.

"Of course," she said, turning her gaze to Hiei, "I could be wrong."

Then, just as quickly as his gaze met hers, it left to look down at the two girls.

"Hn."

* * *

_Whatever you do, Selene, don't put your guard down, or Hiei will kill you,_ Selene kept telling herself.

It wasn't long before she felt the shoulders of her friend sag a bit. "Are you sure he didn't just leave?" Atari grumbled.

"I can't say for sure, but I wouldn't ask that question if I were you."

"Why not?"

"Because you've seen horror movies. Lines like that are right before someone dies."

Although she couldn't see Atari, Selene knew that her friend was rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, well I'm about ready to go, death or no death. This is incredibly boring."

Right as she said that, a black blur came from nowhere and attacked Selene, forcing her to the ground. Her sword skidded a few feet away from her. Hiei stood over her with a glare.

"Dang it, why did you attack me and not her?" Selene growled out.

"Because your stance was so terrible a novice would be ashamed."

Selene glared at him.

"Well, maybe if I was given some direction I wouldn't have that problem!" she yelled with her hands clenched.

"Hn," Hiei grunted before continuing, "I was trying to see what you knew on your own, but I found that there was nothing. If you really are a demon, you're the weakest I've ever seen."

"Hey, don't call Selene weak!" Atari yelled quite angrily, "You-"

"No, stop," Selene commanded her friend, eyes narrowing on Hiei.

Atari got quiet immediately, noticing Selene's body language showing she was getting angry.

"Listen, Hiei," Selene once again commanded, making Hiei's eyes narrow. "You're right, I am weak. Guess what? I can't change that just because you want me to. If you want it to change you're going to have to help me get better, it won't just come on its own. If you want to keep treating me like crap, then fine, I'm leaving. I don't need you to waste both of our time. So what are we going to do?"

Selene saw Atari biting her bottom lip in worry. Understandably so, as well, since neither Atari nor Selene knew how Hiei would react.

Hiei looked at Selene for a moment, she guessed he might be sizing her up. She just returned a stoic gaze, holding her ground. "Get up and get into a fighting stance."

Selene bit back a groan. _So, he's not going to change,_ she thought. Still, she did as she said, though not very well since she didn't know any fighting stances.

Hiei walked up to her as she braced herself for whatever he was going to do. Still, she did not see what he did coming. As she stood there, he kicked one of her feet, not hard enough to hurt too much, but enough that he spread her legs apart more.

"Your stance needs to be wider," he commanded, then added, "and you need to get lower." As he spoke, he pushed her down to get her more in a crouch. His eyes then flickered back to Atari, who was staring shocked at the whole thing. "You should be doing the same as her."

Atari quickly complied, not wanting to push her luck.

Selene was, to say the least, surprised. It seemed that she might have broken some ground with him.

* * *

A man with yellow-blonde hair spiking downwards walked down a long, seemingly empty corridor, when suddenly, a figure dropped in front of him, graceful as a wild cat.

He had long, midnight-black hair and a gorgeous face that seemed carved out of porcelain. It was adorned with two piercing sapphire eyes and lips sculpted into an unpleasant sneer. On either side of his head could be found elegant ears with a point at the end. They twitched every now an again, as if picking up something far off in the distance. He was the same man as the one that attacked the Spirit World with Silare.

"What are you doing here, Raidon?" came his melodic voice. "My lady is upset with your current failure, and disrupting her at the moment is not advised."

The blonde, Raidon, looked at the other man with a bit of distain. "That wasn't my fault. I was not given any knowledge to the Reikai Tantei being there." His look got more ferocious as he continued, "A few members of my family have been killed and more captured because of your lack of foresight."

The black-haired male sighed and responded, his voice sounding a bit forlorn, "It's doubtful she will consider that an adequate excuse. I believe the only option you have is to try again."

"Try again? What do you think I am, suicidal?"

"I believe it would be far worse, however, if you let my lady catch you around here while she is in such a foul mood from your failure."

"So what is it you want me to do?"

"What I just told you."

"I'm sorry, I just assumed that you might have a little more extensive of a plan than 'try again.' You treat it so casually. We're not dealing with some powerless children anymore, we're talking about the Spirit Detectives."

"When, Raidon, did you become so weak?" a voice came from behind the black-haired man. Walking out of the shadows, the figure revealed herself to be Silare.

The black-haired man bowed respectively before backing away a bit, showing her authority. "My lady."

She smiled to him in response before turning her attention to Raidon, where her smile turned into a sneer. "Wasn't it you who took out the entire clan of Tenma Psychics, or was I misinformed?"

Raidon said nothing in return.

"My Lady," the black-haired man spoke up from behind Silare. She turned to face him as he continued. "Perhaps we should lend him some assistance. It is true that his clan took out the Tenma Psychics, but his numbers have decreased since then, and the Reikai Tantei _are_ quite powerful. This is a partnership, we should give what we can to help."

Silare smiled to him. "Of course, Mâran. As always, you are right."

"Thank you, my Lady."

"We will send some of our fighters to help you, Raidon. Soon the girls will be in our possession. You can do what you wish with Atari, but remember: Evendiel is mine."

* * *

**Alright, I have some not so great news. The news is that I'm going to ask for reviews. I did say I wouldn't because I'm not the normal writer who's out to boost her own ego. The thing is I just really don't know if anyone cares about it. I know that Ookami can't read it too often as she is busy, but that honestly is taking out most of my inspiration. I do want to continue writing, and even if no one reviews or even reads it, I'll still be adding them. The thing is I won't feel like anyone cares if the next one comes out, let alone when, so the process will likely be very slow. I'm not trying to pressure you into reviewing or anything, but if you get a chance, I'd like to know if anyone is reading.**

**Thanks!  
LectaElf**


	5. The Calm Before the Storm

**I'm sorry it took so long. I'd explain, but it's rather personal, sorry. I think I'm in a better place now, so hopefully I'll start racking them out, but no guarantees. I have this awful creative writing professor who makes me want to stop writing, but I'll try to make sure she doesn't beat me down too hard.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own much. More detail in earlier chapters. Look at them.**

**1) As most already know, in the Chapter Black saga, the ogre's name is revealed to be Jorge (no, it isn't spelled "George").**

* * *

The Dawn of Darkness

Chapter 5:

Revelations Part One-

The Calm Before the Storm

The cells were dank and harsh in the dark confines of Reikai prison. There was minimal light coming from the small windows that scarcely adorned the walls, but they didn't offer any hope of freedom. Looking through would only show a drop longer than even the greatest skyscrapers in Tokyo.

And it was there that a certain blue ogre who always was around Koenma led a shackled prisoner to his cell. Earlier that day, the demon was caught sneaking around Genkai's temple. Hiei caught him, telling Koenma that he was from the same clan as the ones who attacked Selene and Atari earlier.

The ogre went a ways before locking up the demon in a cell, then going back towards the entrance.

"I've seen you here a lot lately."

He was startled before looking to his right inside a cell, seeing a man looking no older than 20, but since he's a demon, the truth was that he was much older. He had long, black hair in a loose ponytail, cold, grey eyes, and sharp, angular features.

"Oh, Ronin, you surprised me." the ogre replied, relieved, while walking closer to his cell.

"Sorry, Jorge(1), I'm just curious about what's going on." Ronin replied kindly before letting his eyes wander to the barred window that overlooked the outside world.

Ronin was a strange inmate.

Jorge knew what he was in there for. Apparently, his lifestyle had been quite colorful for many years. He was a thief, and a ruthless one at that. He didn't care who was hurt along the way, as long as he got his prize. Then, he all of a sudden fell off the map, and stayed off for about fifty years. To get even more confusing, out of nowhere, he came and turned himself in, saying that he felt it was time to pay for his crimes. Since he brought himself in, the original death sentence was released, and instead he was to serve a lifetime in prison.

Ronin was a _very_ strange inmate.

He was always in solitary confinement, as he tended to get into fights otherwise, but it appeared to be what he wanted. He rarely spoke to any of the guards or other inmates when he had the chance. Most of the time he would merely look sad into the distance, and Jorge couldn't help but wonder if Ronin turned himself in to experience his own personal living hell, but the question remained, what exactly did he do to deserve his fate? Jorge had asked in the past, but he never was given a response.

Even with all the oddities, though, Ronin was a very good listener, and for the neglected ogre, he was often a good confidante.

"There has been a lot of activity lately in Makai," Jorge spoke, relieving Ronin from his curiosities, at least as well as Jorge could do so. "For some reason, these two (presumably demon) girls are gaining a lot of attention from a couple groups. One group is demon, but the other, well, I'm not sure what group she's from."

"Another dimension is getting involved?" Ronin asked, surprised.

"I didn't know that you knew about that..." Jorge said, pondering how he would know about alternate dimensions, since most demons didn't.

"Yes, I had some experience. Anyway, why do they care about a couple of demon girls?"

"We don't know, but the woman seems very serious..."

With Ronin's scrunched eyebrows, he gave the impression of being confused, but nodded his head anyway.

It seemed that the conversation was over, and Jorge was about to leave, when he once again heard Ronin speak.

"Out of curiosity, how old are they?"

"You mean the girls?"

"Yes."

"Well, we can't know for sure, but we think around 16."

Ronin gave a sad smile, looking to the outdoors without another word.

* * *

Selene was correct about her sleeping habits. The moment she came back from training with Hiei, she collapsed on the couch, and not too long after, fell asleep. And that happened day after day, but the training didn't go as planned, at least, not with Selene.

According to Genkai and Hiei, Atari's demon energy was increasing in strength, and that soon she would likely break the bonds that were keeping her demon side at bay. Although when the demon side came out, it would likely be very dangerous to those around Atari, it was great news. It meant that she was progressing, and that it would be that much sooner until Atari could begin to control her powers, as well as gain back her memories.

Unfortunately, Selene was not so lucky. She hadn't improved at all, despite anything and everything Hiei put her through, and she was getting more and more discouraged. She learned that Genkai had said that she thought she sensed some inner power in Selene, but the girl could tell that the old teacher was starting to reevaluate her previous conclusion. It wasn't just her demon strength, either. Selene was having a lot of trouble keeping up with the martial arts Hiei was teaching as well. And "having trouble," of course means, "she only learned two or three things of the dozens of techniques Hiei taught."

Any normal martial artist wouldn't think that to be anything strange. Depending on the technique, it can take years to perfect. Still, Selene was supposed to already have learned those techniques before her memory was erased, so this was supposed to just be review. It was shown with Atari, as she learned with little effort.

To sum up, Selene was feeling quite useless, unsure, and generally unhappy about herself. She was supposed to enter into this new world (or, old world from a different life) and be able to do things perfectly right away, but unfortunately, she found out she couldn't.

As she mulled over her worries in her head, she walked down the hall that led to the main room, which Selene was pretty sure was the "living room" of sorts. She was about to turn the corner to where she heard voices, until she heard her name being mentioned in the collage of hushed voices that weren't whispers, but obviously weren't really meant to be overheard. Selene, not wanting to gain attention to herself, stayed against the wall to hear what they had to say about her.

She heard Koenma sigh before speaking, "We're really just not sure what we're going to do with her. To be honest, she's mostly just slowing Atari down."

Selene hugged herself and looked down to the ground, disheartened. Though she already had figured she was hurting her friend's progress, it was different when she actually heard it from someone else.

The ever-calculating Kurama added, "There is a chance that Selene is just a normal human Atari used to get to Spirit World."

"I thought of that," Koenma agreed, "and it's starting to become more and more of a probability. If that were the case, we'd likely have to return her to her adopted parents.

Selene shut her eyes tightly and held a firm grip on her forearms. She had purposely not seen her parents when she found out about everything. She was angry that they kept this secret from her, and when Atari and Selene had to go back to get some of their things, she made sure they weren't home when she went. Though Koenma disagreed with her decision, it wasn't his place to make her see them, so he complied with her wishes. Now it seemed she would have to face them soon, as she seemed to have no purpose at Genkai's.

As Selene contemplated what would happen to her next, Kuwabara spoke up in an accusing voice. "Or it could just be that Hiei is a crappy teacher."

Although still hidden behind the wall, Selene could practically see Hiei's seething glare.

Even though she didn't believe Kuwabara's words, she felt her self loosen up a bit and a ghost of a smile appeared on her face. Whether or not she agreed with him didn't matter. She had someone sticking up for her down there, maybe even someone she could consider a friend. Although she thought it strange that something so small could give her some peace, she didn't stress over it. It was best to just enjoy the comfort.

Still, the lack of response of his comment made their thoughts fairly clear. She was sure that they didn't agree. That was true even more for Hiei, who decided to snap back, saying, "I'm a fine teacher, fool. Atari is doing well, it's just Selene who is a weak student. We should just wipe her memory again and send her back to her human parents."

With a shut of her eyes, Selene made sure to bite back her sobs.

* * *

Selene was sitting on Genkai's couch watching stupid infomercials. It was late and she couldn't sleep after hearing the conversation. Not that she was that good at sleeping at night anyway...

As she brought up her feet onto the couch, vainly trying to burrow her head into her legs, she sighed. She just couldn't believe that her life was going to go back to before. She was going to go home and lose all memory of this place and be told Atari "moved away" or something. She was once again going to be confused and alone. But, maybe that was just the way it was supposed to be.

"Hey."

Selene jumped about a foot in the air as she looked behind her to see Kuwabara standing there, a bit shocked at her frantic response.

He scratched the back of his head and laughed uneasily. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh," she replied, her voice more calm, "That's okay. I was just thinking."

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Oh, yeah. Just couldn't sleep," she paused before adding quickly, "I don't sleep well at night."

It seemed her rush actually gave her away, as he gave a disbelieving look.

"I might not be as smart as Kurama," Kuwabara said looking at the TV, "but I do have pretty good hunches, and right now my hunch says you're lying. So, I've got to make sure, is everything _really_ alright?"

Selene darted her eyes away from the boy and looked at the ground.

"You know," he continued, "you can talk to me, if you want."

Selene bit her lip before nodding. She wasn't sure he saw, but when he looked at her she figured he did.

She sighed before simply saying, "I heard your guys' conversation about me."

Kuwabara looked a bit taken aback.

Without letting Kuwabara respond, she continued, "I know that you guys want to send me back to my adopted family with a wiped memory." She paused. "Thanks for sticking up for me, by the way."

Kuwabara scratched the back of his head, looking a bit sheepish. "It wasn't a problem," he said, though his voice held a bit of sadness. "You know, I don't agree with this."

Selene smiled. "Thanks." They sat in silence before she continued. "I just find it scary that I won't remember any of this. I felt so out-of-place where I lived and when I thought I might actually find a place here, it turns out this place is just as bad as the last. I don't fit in here, and I'm starting to believe that I won't fit in anywhere." Tears were about to flow, but Selene was past the place of not caring. "If I leave, I'll forget everything I've seen, and know that there are things out there, and maybe somewhere I'd be able to find where I belonged, but if I stay, I'll only be a burden to everyone. So," she sobbed out, "what am I supposed to do?"

Kuwabara looked at her sadly. "Well, first you're going to have to let me give you a hug."

She gave out a little half-laugh, half-cry before crawling into his outstretched arms.

"Then," he continued, "you're going to have to figure out that even if you're sent home, I won't let them take away any memories, and the first chance I get, I'll go visit you in America."

Selene grasped him tighter before letting go and returning to sitting next to him. "Yukina is so lucky."

She noticed that it took no time before Kuwabara got a goofy grin on his face.

"You are going to make her so happy and you'll be the perfect husband and father."

"I'm not sure the others would agree with you."

"Then don't listen to them. You're probably the best guy I've ever met. Any girl would be lucky to have you as their husband."

"Thank you," Kuwabara stated, head down, looking at his hands.

"Hey, I'm just pointing out the obvious." They smiled at each other as she rose up. "I guess I'm going to try going to bed again. Who knows, maybe tomorrow will be different."

"Maybe," Kuwabara responded softly.

Although neither person really believed their hopes, at the moment it didn't matter. For just this short time, they stayed in their dreams. Kuwabara would get married to Yukina and they'd live happily ever after. Selene would become the strongest creature to ever live and finally find her place in the world(s). And Hiei would finally get what's coming to him.

For just this moment, everything was possible.

But there is a problem with moments. They always end.

* * *

Selene smiled out towards the beautiful meadow. She was sitting on a porch swing that belonged to a house she had never seen before. Even so, she felt completely at home. It was like when you went on a trip somewhere you had never been before, but you could swear it felt so familiar. Like something in-

"A dream," Selene finished, figuring it out. She was dreaming.

Suddenly, she felt hands on her shoulders. "That's right, Selene. It is Selene now isn't it?" asked a melodic feminine voice.

Selene was startled, and looking behind her she saw a woman that looked so familiar. She had brown hair and blue eyes, like Selene, but the woman was much more beautiful. She was tall and slender with pale skin and contrasting ruby-red lips. If Selene would have thought for a moment, a strange woman touching her would have made her uneasy, but at the moment all she could do was marvel at the beauty of her. It took the girl a moment before she even realized she was asked a question.

"Yeah..." After a moment she started to tense. "Do I know you?"

The woman hummed for a moment as she seemed to be in thought. "Well, I used to see you often when you were a child, but it's been a long time since then. You were lost and in need guidance, just as you are now. My name is Twilièt."

"I'm not lost."

She laughed airily. "You are confused about your place in the world, it's difficult to be more lost then that."

"I guess, but what are you going to do to help me?"

She smiled and sat next to Selene on the swing. "I'm not sure yet. Why don't you tell me all about what's going on, and perhaps we will discover the answers."

And with that, Selene went into a full explanation of everything. From not finding her powers, to not wanting to talk to her adopted parents. She didn't leave a single thing out.

At the end, Twilièt looked at her quite sadly as she held her hands. "You know, this might all be part of your destiny. Sometimes powers aren't meant to be awoken."

"Do you know how I can get my powers?"

Twilièt was silent as she looked away from Selene.

"You do, don't you!"

"Yes, but if you do this, there is no going back, and I promise you, this will not make your life any easier."

"It doesn't matter. Even if it's hard, I want - no I _need_ - to find out who or what I really am."

"What if the price is death?"

Selene's heart raced a bit. She really didn't want to die. "I- I don't know, but I think I would still do it."

"Alright, Selene, but not this sleep. It's about time you wake up for training. When you go back to sleep, I will wait for you here."

* * *

"Selene, what do you see?"

"Um... You're looking at me with a glare."

Without missing a beat, Hiei moved on. "Atari, what do you see?"

Hiei decided to blindfold the two girls and figure out how much they could sense in their surroundings. Apparently, Selene's answer wasn't sufficient, though she was sure that she guessed correctly.

"I see you standing a little to my left, and I can see your third eye through your bandanna."

Selene flinched a bit at that. The only time she had really seen his Jagan eye was when he saved her in the woods near her house. It was the same day she ran to Atari's house in panic. Thinking of the Jagan made her think of what else she saw: the head of the demon who attacked Selene disconnected from the rest of his body. It was the first death Selene could remember seeing, and it had to be a decapitation. She knew Hiei was just protecting her, but whenever she thought about what he did, she had to swallow the bile that threatened to come. So, she tried not to think about it and concentrate on Atari's description.

"I'm not sure, but I think you actually are glaring."

"Knew it," Selene smugly interrupted.

Apparently Hiei was at the very least accustomed to her outbursts, as he boredly ignored her to continue speaking with Atari. "What about your surroundings. What else do you see?"

"Um... I see a bird in a tree to my right, and a chipmunk in the tree behind me. To my left is a very annoyed Selene."

"How could you guess?" Selene interjected.

Everyone still ignored her.

"Um, a little bit away I sense something really weird. It's like... like a non-energy. I don't know how to describe it. What is it, Hiei?"

Hiei didn't respond, so Selene took off her bandana to look around. She had to admit she was very curious about this "non-energy" life form.

When her eyes adjusted to the light, Selene saw Hiei on alert, hand on his katana and Jagan bared, seeming to ingest all of its surroundings.

"Wait," Selene interjected, successfully destroying the silence, "did Atari just sense something you didn't before, Hiei?"

"Silence!" he hissed in response, not saying another word.

Having at least the smallest care to keep her life, she decided to shut it.

Selene never saw it happen, but after a few moments, Hiei's katana left his sheath and flew through the air. He disappeared while Atari and Selene ran in the direction he threw his sword. It didn't take too long until they found him in front of another man, Hiei's sword in the stranger's right shoulder. Despite the situation, the man just laughed.

This peaked Hiei's annoyance, and he let out a burst of fire.

* * *

Jorge once again found himself escorting a prisoner, and was more than just a little uneasy, as this was the scout that Hiei captured. Even in the dank cells he elegantly walked with his head held high. Jorge wasn't sure if he would try something to escape, and the ogre knew he wasn't any match for the graceful warrior.

Before too long, they were in front of the new inmate's cell.

"Sorry, Ronin," Jorge spoke apologetically.

Ronin looked up to see the two. He gave a single nod to show that he understood. After years of solitude, Ronin was going to have a cellmate.

"Did you just call that man 'Ronin,' animal?" the scout scathingly asked.

"Uh, yeah," Jorge responded with hesitation.

A malicious grin came onto the scout's face.

* * *

As Jorge left, Ronin tried to ignore the new arrival, but unfortunately for him, the other man seemed less inclined to stay in silence.

"So, you must be him," the stranger stated, amused.

"You'll have to be a little more specific," Ronin dryly responded, gazing out the window from his cot.

"Don't act so bemused. If we knew you were still alive, our master might have broken you free."

"Silare?"

"Of course."

"Why are you even away from your dimension?"

"To kill Evendiel, of course."

With that, Ronin's eyes shot to the man.

"You remember her, right? You told us she was dead. Once my lady finds out you're here, I'm sure she'll make you pay for that lie."

Ronin's hands scrunched into fists as he stared hard at the scout as a sneer came to his previously stoic face.

"So, why are you here?" the man continued, "Are you hiding because once Silare found out where you were you'd be dead?"

With a snarl, Ronin jumped across the cell and pinned him to the wall, one hand clasping his neck. Due to the height difference of the very short Ronin to the incredibly tall creature, the latter had to kneel, but despite the situation, he laughed.

"You do realize I need a lot less air than a human, or even you?" he asked smugly. "And this is all you can do with those talismans on the door."

Ronin sneered before shooting out the hand not attached to the other's throat towards the back wall. It began to tremble, and the wards on the door disintegrated. With a loud explosion of energy, a hole punctured through the wall.

It was then that the other man began to fear, but it was too late. Ronin threw him out the window, far away from anything that he could grab onto. Still, Spirit World did not hesitate to set off their sirens, and in no time Ronin heard rushed footsteps from the other side of the door.

He reached the edge of the cell, and jumped down, and when it looked like he was going to plummet to his death like his ex-cellmate, a black void formed around his hand, which he stuck into the wall. It did not stop him, as he was falling quite quickly by then, but it slowed him down until it came to a stop not far above the ground. He jumped down the rest of the way, and ran off, away from the castle.

**

* * *

Okay, so last time I asked for reviews, and although I only got one, I'm very happy to have received it. Thank you Dawnstar48. You're very sweet. Anyway, I'm sorry to disappoint. As said, something personal has been going on, but I hope you won't be disappointed next chapter, that is, if you're still reading.**

**Until next time,**

**LectaElf**


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